What are the patent terms of the different types of patents?
| Patent Right | Duration |
| Patent | 20 years |
| Utility Model | 10 years |
| Design | 15 years |
The terms are calculated from the filing dates of the Taiwanese patents. Please be advised that the actual patent right shall start from the post-grant publication date and expires on the day before the twentieth/tenth/fifteenth anniversary of the filing date.
What documents are required upon national phase entry?
As Taiwan is not a member of the PCT, a PCT application cannot enter the national phase in Taiwan.
We can file a patent application with the required documents and information with the TIPO. The following documents and information are required to be submitted to the TIPO at the time of filing a new patent application.
We can file a patent application with the required documents and information with the TIPO. The following documents and information are required to be submitted to the TIPO at the time of filing a new patent application.
- A set of the specification, claims, abstract, and drawings
- The filing date(s) and application number(s) of the priority application(s)
- The applicant’s name, nationality, and address
- All the inventors’ names and nationalities
- A certified copy of the priority document (if a priority is claimed)
→ can be submitted within 16 months calculating from the earliest priority date. - A Power of Attorney executed by a representative of the applicant
→ can be submitted within 4 months after the filing date.
Two inventors, A and B, want to assign their application to Company X, but they excluded inventor C, who now refuses to sign the assignment. Is there a remedy?
There is no remedy. According to Article 13 of the Patent Act, if the application is filed by joint-owners A, B and C, A and B cannot assign their share of the application to Company X without the consent of C.
Are electronic signatures permitted? Do you recommend using e-signatures? Are there other signature/notary requirements?
Effective on December 01, 2022, the TIPO accepts Powers of Attorney signed with a hand-written signature or an electronic signature from a person authorized to sign on behalf of the Applicant. Please be advised that the electronic signature should be in the form of a hand-written signature rather than being typed.
With regard to a new patent application submitted via the electronic filing system of the TIPO, the Power of Attorney can be submitted as a color-scanned copy in PDF format accompanied by a declaration that said document is a true copy of the original.
Neither legalization nor notarization is required for the Power of Attorney.
With regard to a new patent application submitted via the electronic filing system of the TIPO, the Power of Attorney can be submitted as a color-scanned copy in PDF format accompanied by a declaration that said document is a true copy of the original.
Neither legalization nor notarization is required for the Power of Attorney.
What is the required filing language?
The documents of a new patent application should be submitted in Traditional Chinese with the TIPO. Said documents include the specification, claims, abstract, and drawings.
However, a Taiwan patent application can be filed with the specification in Japanese, English, German, Korean, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic or Simplified Chinese to obtain a valid filing date. The TIPO allows submitting the formal Chinese translation within 4 to 6 months after the filing date.
However, a Taiwan patent application can be filed with the specification in Japanese, English, German, Korean, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic or Simplified Chinese to obtain a valid filing date. The TIPO allows submitting the formal Chinese translation within 4 to 6 months after the filing date.
Are voluntary amendments permitted? What is the time limit for making voluntary amendments?
According to Article 43 of the Patent Act, during substantive examination, applicants are allowed to file voluntary amendments any time before receiving an Examination Report from the TIPO. After receipt of an Examination Report, amendments can only be made within the time limit specified in the Examination Report.
Please be advised that amendments cannot exceed the scope of the specification, claims and drawings as originally filed.
Please be advised that amendments cannot exceed the scope of the specification, claims and drawings as originally filed.
What is deadline for requesting substantive examination?
A request for substantive examination must be filed at the time of filing or within three years from the Taiwan filing date. If no request for substantive examination is filed within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Does the TIPO charge excess claim fees or excess page fees?
The official fee for excess claims and excess pages should be paid at the time of filing the request for substantive examination. A request for substantive examination can be filed at the time of filing or must be filed within three years from the Taiwan filing date.
Are there any prior art disclosures or Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) obligations in your country? If so what are the requirements and process?
According to local patent provisions, the TIPO may, if necessary, notify an applicant to submit search information or examination reports for corresponding applications in other countries. Local practices interpret this to mean that a patent applicant is not obligated to submit such information to the TIPO unless the examiner specifically requires doing so.
Can applicants add new claims when responding to an Examination Report?
Applicants can add new claims when responding to an Examination Report if the content of the added claims does not go beyond the scope of the specification.
